The Innocence of Every Man
by bon-evair
Summary: ONE-SHOT. Set after s02e01. If was Stefan's fault Damon was hurt, that Damon was suffering. But it was Stefan who had comfort Damon...


**Disclaimer: No~ I would sadly, never own Damon, or Stefan. I do not own Vampire Diaries... :(  
AN: Well, I just had this sudden urge to write this down, 'It is what it is - Lifehouse' was probably my inspiration... o.O Yes, it's a fail and I wrote this all without really planning anything out. So yes, its a fail -.-" But I DO hope you enjoy this :P Anyhooooo, on with the story... :DDDDDDDDDDD**

**The Innocence of Every Man**

No, it was never Damon's fault he fell in love with Katherine. No, it was never Damon's fault he fell in love with Elena, and no, it was never his fault both of them had rejected him and ripped his dead heart to pieces.

Was everything ever his fault? The truthful answer was yes, but Damon had too much pride, too much dignity to say yes. So the answer was no.

Usually when situations arise with the questions of whose fault it is, blame tends to sneaks its ugly head through. So whose fault was it this time? Certainly not Damon's, so whose fault could it be? Damon had came to the conclusion: Stefan Salvatore.

Damon stood in the middle of the living room, alcohol in one hand, staring at the meaningless fireplace. Nothing crossed or zigzagged through his mind, it was all just empty thoughts.

Who knew empty thoughts could make you so sad, so... _angry_. Damon threw the cup of alcohol into the fireplace, the fire coming back to life. No one would've expected that from him, nor did Damon himself. It was such a humane thing to do, such a human thing to feel. He wanted to scream, wanted to kick something but he had no energy, Damon felt heavy with emotions. He sunk to the floor, feeling the smoothness of the carpet beneath him and then Damon Salvatore dropped a tear.

_o.O_

It was late at night when Stefan stepped into his home, expecting... nothing really. Stefan never expected, he always knew, but this time was different. This time was... surprising. There Damon was, curled in a ball, his eyes closed. He looked peaceful, like an angel he never had a chance to be.

There was something odd, out of place... weird about this scene, and it was the fact that Damon had his fingers digging through his arm. If he were human, his skin would have split and blood would have poured out.

"Damon..." Stefan walked closer, careful, not making a sound. "Damon..." He repeated.

Stefan kneed down and shook Damon out of his stupor. Immediately Damon's eyes opened, his pupils dilated. "Yes Stefan? May I help you?" Both the brothers stood up.

"Damon... what are you doing?" Stefan asked. He couldn't believe it. Was Damon self-inflicting? Was Damon just being Damon? Was this all a part of Damon's evil plan?

"What am _I_ doing? Shouldn't you be questioning yourself that, Stefan?" Damon stared down Stefan with eyes Stefan knew all too well, yes, it wasn't unexpected, Stefan knew all too well; the eyes of a devil.

"And... Why would I need to ask myself that question?" Stefan challenged.

"Why are you so _stupid_? What will become of Elena in... hmmmm 50 years?" Damon cocked an eyebrow, "I kept asking myself, what will happen in 50 years. I'm not really certain... not really sure." It had seemed Damon was talking to himself, pacing up and down the Victorian carpet. "You could die, _I _could die. Ahahahaha, _we _could die. I'm not certain. Oh, wait, what if 2012 happened? Yes, well, I'm not certain about that either!" Damon threw his arms out, waiting for some form of communication from Stefan. He got none, so he continued, pacing up and down and thinking. "I could be in New York, California even, having some hot babes on each of my arm, sipping margaritas. Oh, I could be terrorising a town too. So could you... but that's a really, really, _really _small possibility... There's not many thing I'm sure of Stefan, but one thing I'm sure of is that Elena will be old. She'll be some old ugly granny... And you won't love her no more." Stefan watch Damon shake his head, "and I won't love her anymore."

Stefan almost missed the last part, even with his super hearing. It amazed Stefan to see how Damon could still feel. It was times like these that Stefan understood why he had forgiven Damon countless of times. It was times like these that Stefan knew their race; vampires, aren't all the work of devils.

"Damon... I'm sorry." What could Stefan say? 'You will still love her, Damon.' Was that what he was supposed to say? Because it was the truth. Damon would still be in love with Elena, always. But he could never get her, so if he said Damon would still be in love with Elena in 50 years times... well, wouldn't that be Stefan condemning Damon to a lifetime of pain. A lifetime of one sided love? No, he couldn't do that. Sometimes... the lies are less painful than the truth.

The world had gone crazy today, Stefan always expected many things from Damon, but today, today this new Damon threw him off track. This new Damon looked Stefan in the eyes. It was a new set of eyes. Satan mustn't have created Damon's eyes, even though vampires are the doings of Devils. No, it mustn't be Satan, its must've been God. The beautifully sculptured eyes bore into Stefan. Tears overtook Damon's eye making it shine and reflect the sadness, the hurt, the pain Damon was going through.

Stefan didn't know what he was doing; it felt like infinity as Stefan closed the space between Damon and him. Stefan's strong arms wrapped around Damon, holding him tightly, securing from the bad things outside of their little bubbled that they had formed. Awkwardly, Damon hugged Stefan back.

Stefan knew he couldn't protect Damon from him; it was he who had caused the pain for Damon. Stefan, deep down, knew that he was the brother that beheld more evil than Damon could _ever_ hold in his infinite lifetime. Stefan was truly evil, for taking everyone Damon had loved. He was evil and everyone else was just too naive to notice.

_O.o_

Damon rarely... _ever_ hugs Stefan, but it felt nice. It felt nice to have someone offer their protection and shelter for you when you were vulnerable. It felt nice that that someone didn't take advantage of that vulnerability too. But now, who was Damon to blame Stefan now? Stefan had offered him that comfort, that sympathy. No, it was not Stefan's fault. It was all Damon.

Yes, it was a nice gesture that innocent little good Stefan offered his protection, his... love to Damon, but Stefan could never expect Damon would blame himself now. There was more to Damon than Stefan will ever know, will ever expect.

They stayed like that for a long time. Just soaking in each other warmth. One offering protection whilst the other embracing it.

And that was how they were; the Salvatore brothers.

**Ahhhhks, well, reviews are REALLY appreciated :DDDDDDD ****It'll make my day :P Thank you~~ for reading. **


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